Obesity, borderline personality symptomatology, and body image among womenin a psychiatric outpatient setting

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among body weight, borderline personality symptomatology, and several measures o f body image among women presenting for psychiatric evaluation. Method: For ty-eight women in a university-based psychiatric outpatient clinic complete d the borderline personality scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionna ire-Revised (PDQ-R) and several measures of body image and indicated lifeti me prevalence of depression histories. Results: PDQ-R scores correlated (r = .44, p < .07) with body mass index (BMI). Also, there were significant re lationships between PDQ-R scores and measures of body image even after cont rolling for BMI. Discussion: In a psychiatric outpatient setting, borderlin e personality symptomatology is associated with higher body weight as well as body-image issues that are not necessarily due to larger body size. (C) 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.